With God in the Cave

In our Wednesday prayer gathering, while reading Bible passages and asking God to prompt us to pray in keeping with his Word, we recently took in Psalm 57—a song written by David “when he fled from Saul, in the cave.”  I don’t know about you, but if I were run­ning for my life and hiding in a cave (e.g., 1 Samuel 22:1), I don’t see myself writing poetry!  But God works wonders—including in our hearts amidst the most unexpected and trying circumstances.

David cries out, “Be merciful to me, O God” (v 1); “My soul is in the midst of lions” (v 4).  He is vividly aware of the danger of the moment—and yet:  he is not driven by the danger of the moment.  In v 5 his song takes a stunning turn upward:  “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!  Let your glory be over all the earth!”

Desperate David’s hope in the Lord is sure:  “My heart is stead­fast, O God, my heart is steadfast!” (v 7).  And right then and there, huddling in the shadows, he exclaims to the sovereign God:  “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.  For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds” (vv 9-10).

How about that:  in the cave, yet envisioning the clouds; his life under threat, yet his heart bursting with joy in God’s glory!  And it’s not just in Psalm 57—this kind of unshaken faith is all over the Bible.  Take Psalm 23:  we feed and rest in green pastures, but we are also led through the valley of the shadow of death—and either way, our dwelling with God forever is undisturbed.

Or take Philippians 4:6-7, where Paul urges us not to worry about anything but instead to pray about everything, and in that way to rest in God’s peace.  And Paul writes this from prison! (1:17).

Or take Job:  after enduring unfathomable suffering, this broken-yet-godly man cries out, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (1:21).  God meets us in the dark times—will you dare to trust him even then?